1 . About 20 years ago Nissan introduced the world's first "talking car". Actually, it was just a recorded voice that would tell you that your door was open, and would continue talking to you until you closed it. Of course, it never caught on.
Times have changed and the talking car of the near future is a car that you talk to, rather than a car that talks to you. You'll be able to control your radio by giving voice orders, get traffic reports and directions, and send and receive e﹣mails. To do this, you needn't push a button at all.
This is good news for those who spend more and more of their lives in their cars. In fact, the new type of cars will be more like offices on wheels, with computers, wireless Internet access, and satellite radio inside. Companies are hoping that time wasted in traffic could be put to better use. If workers are able to check their e﹣mails, faxes, and meeting time on the way to work, they can spend more time at the office doing more important tasks.
Microsoft, of course, is hoping that every one of those mobile offices will use Windows. "It's a great goal. " says Dick Brass, VP of Microsoft's automotive division, "But we'd like to have one of our operating systems in every car on earth. " There are already 650 million cars in the world, and every year about 50 million new cars roll off the production lines. If Brass' wish came true, cars could become a bigger business for Microsoft than computers.
1. Which is TRUE about the world's first "talking car"?A.Nissan invented it. |
B.It was introduced in the late 20th century. |
C.It could record voices. |
D.It could not only record but also talk itself. |
A.traffic reports | B.voice orders |
C.light signals | D.electricity energy |
A.much time will be wasted in traffic |
B.their workers will get to the office earlier |
C.their workers will have more time to do more important work |
D.their workers will check e﹣mails, faxes, and meeting time at home |
A.turned on | B.took off |
C.become popular | D.was colourful |
A.all of the mobile offices will use Windows |
B.about 50 million new cars are produced every year |
C.the new type of talking car has a recorded voice inside |
D.the talking car of the near future is a car that talks to you |
2 . More and more Chinese are having English names, but not everyone is good at finding one. Why not offer them some help? An American girl called Lindsay Jernigan is now teaching people how to get better English names.
While working in Shanghai, Lindsay met many Chinese people with strange English names. Some of them chose a lucky number of “Seven,” a favorite fruit, “Apple,” and a cartoon character, “Snow White.” Others had names like “July” and “Rabbit.”
After noticing the problem, Lindsay had an idea. She quit her job and set up a website (bestenglishname.com) to help Chinese people get better English names.
The website helps people in two ways. After they take an online quiz, people will get five English names based on their personal information, such as age, job and even future plans. This costs 18 yuan. People can also meet with Lindsay to talk about their English name. But that costs more.
Now, about 2,000 people each day visit the website. Most of them are preparing to study or work abroad. Lindsay is planning to offer them more help, such as helping them write resumes (简历).
1. What does Lindsay think of the name of “Rabbit”?A.Wonderful. | B.Strange. | C.Creative. | D.Boring. |
A.continued | B.asked | C.picked up | D.gave up |
A.18 yuan | B.less than 18 yuan |
C.more than 18 yuan | D.more or less than 18 yuan |
A.Her website mainly helps the English-speaking people. |
B.Her idea came from his work experience in China. |
C.She plans to provide more service for the customers. |
D.She can help the people to get name in two ways. |
A.A hard-working American girl |
B.How to find an good English name |
C.Don’t choose English names without thinking |
D.An American girl helps to choose an English name |
3 . POETRY CHALLENGE
Write a poem about how courage, determination, and strength have helped you face challenges in your life.
Prizes
3 Grand Prizes:Trip to Washington, D. C. for each of three winners, a parent and one other person of the winner’s choice. Trip includes round-trip air tickets, hotel stay for two nights, and tours of the National Air and Space Museum and the office of National Geographic World.
6 First Prizes:The book Sky Pioneer:A Photobiography of Amelia Earhart signed by author Corinne Szabo and pilot Linda Finch.
50 Honorable Mentions:Judges will choose up to 50 honorable mention winners, who will each receive a T-shirt in memory of Earhart’s final flight.
Rules
Follow all rules carefully to prevent disqualification.
■Write a poem using 100 words or fewer. Your poem can be any format, any number of lines.
■Write by hand or type on a single sheet of paper. You may use both the front and back of the paper.
■On the same sheet of paper, write or type your name, address, telephone number, and birth date.
■Mail your entry to us by October 31 this year.
1. How many people can each grand prize winner take on the free trip?A.Two. | B.Three. | C.Four. | D.Six. |
A.A plane ticket. | B.A book by Corinne Szabo. |
C.A special T-shirt. | D.A photo of Amelia Earhart. |
A.Typing your poem out. | B.Writing a poem of 120 words. |
C.Using both sides of the paper. | D.Mailing your entry on October 30. |
A.before October 31 this year | B.after October 31 this year |
C.before October 31 next year | D.after October 31 next year |
4 . He has been called the“missing link”.Halfman,halfbeast.He is supposed to live in the highest mountain in the world—Mount Everest. He is known as the Abominable Snowman.The
Over the years,the story of the Yetis has
Further efforts have been made to find out about Yetis.But the only things people have ever found were more footprints.Most believe the footprints are nothing more than ordinary animal tracks,
These days,only a few people continue to take the story of the Abominable Snowman
A.event | B.story | C.adventure | D.description |
A.centuries | B.too long | C.some time | D.many years |
A.heard from | B.cared for | C.knew of | D.read about |
A.even | B.hardly | C.certainly | D.probably |
A.developed | B.changed | C.occurred | D.continued |
A.entirely | B.naturally | C.clearly | D.simply |
A.exist | B.escape | C.disappear | D.return |
A.In the end | B.Therefore | C.After all | D.However |
A.imagined | B.real | C.special | D.familiar |
A.so | B.besides | C.again | D.instead |
A.rightly | B.actually | C.normally | D.particularly |
A.lightly | B.jokingly | C.seriously | D.properly |
A.succeed in | B.insist on | C.depend on | D.join in |
A.decision | B.situation | C.subject | D.problem |
A.zoo | B.mountain | C.museum | D.laboratory |